Norwich clinches division title with fifth straight win
ONEONTA – Nowhere in the football handbook does it say that a victory must be an artful display of gridiron excellence.
Norwich was far from its best Friday night at Oneonta, but it made more than enough good plays to pick up a 38-12 victory.
It was the Purple Tornado’s fifth straight victory, and it clinched the program’s first Section IV division title in five years. The victory places Norwich in the sectional semifinals this Friday when it will host Johnson City.
Norwich forced five Yellowjackets turnovers, and turned nearly all of those miscues into points – often working with a short field.
“We talk about the turnover battle, and we want to win that every week,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “I don’t know what the percentage is (of winning games) when you win the turnover battle by four or five, but I like our chances when that happens.”
Norwich scored two touchdowns within a six-second span early in the second quarter – both after Oneonta fumbles – to open a 21-6 lead.
On the first play of the second quarter, Oneonta quarterback Jake Crotser was stripped after a short run at his own team’s 30. An ensuing 15-yard penalty on the ‘Jackets gave Norwich the ball at the 15. Cole Rifanburg ran for six yards on a fourth-and five to the four-yard line, and Mike Oralls scored the second of his three TDs one play later.
Norwich regained the ball on the subsequent kickoff when Colton Langille rattled Oneonta returner Pat Calhoun with a high hit, and Jordan Vinal was on the spot for one of his two fumble recoveries. Oralls did the rest on a 20-yard TD run.
“We weren’t as physical as we wanted to be tonight, but we were opportunistic and were able to capitalize on their turnovers,” Chrystie said.
If you looked at the game strictly from a yardage standpoint – and the action between each club’s 20-yard line – you would think that Oneonta was winning the battle. The Yellowjackets summed 331 total yards to Norwich’s 172.
“I don’t think we played our best football, and that’s a credit to Oneonta,” Chrystie said. “It was their senior night, and they came prepared.”
The ease with which it scored its first touchdown may have curtailed Norwich’s early emotion, Chrystie said. Tristan Rifanburg returned the opening kickoff 29 yards to midfield. Oralls ran for 25 yards on his first carry, Oneonta was whistled for a penalty as Oralls was shoved out of bounds, and Oralls scored from 16 yards on just the second play from scrimmage.
With the exception of his scoring runs, 16, 4, and 25 yards, Oralls’ yards did not come easily, He carried 18 times for 113 yards, his sixth 100-yard rushing performance of the season.
When it wasn’t forcing turnovers, Norwich was typically punting the ball away. Oneonta held a significant edge in time of possession, but proved its own worst enemy. In addition to the Yellowjackets’ two lost fumbles in the second quarter, Norwich senior Jacob Perrone intercepted his third pass in as many games.
Perrone’s pickoff led to Zan Stewart’s 34-yard field late in the half giving Norwich an 18-point halftime advantage.
Oneonta sliced the Norwich lead in half scoring on the opening drive of the second half. An innocuous looking swing pass from Crotser to Sam Sherrill turned into a 48-yard scoring play when Sherrill broke through the initial line of defense and cruised unabated to the endzone.
A drive later in the quarter reached the Norwich redzone, but Sherrill, on a pass reception, fumbled the ball back to Norwich.
Early in the fourth, Norwich stopped an Oneonta fourth-and-five when Oralls sniffed out that same swing pass that scored earlier tackling Sherrill well short of the line to gain at the 41.
In just three plays, Norwich padded its advantage when Tristan Rifanburg scored from 25 yards out. In the final minute of play, Cole Rifanburg scored on a quarterback keeper around the left end.
“I wouldn’t call this a flat performance, but we weren’t as prepared as we needed to be, and that’s on me,” Chrystie said. “We certainly would have wanted a more dominating performance, but at the end of the game, it’s about the score, and if you have more points than the other team, then you’ve done your job.”
Score by quarters
Nor 7 17 0 14—38
On. 6 0 6 0—12
Scoring Summary
First quarter
N: Mike Oralls 16 run (Stewart kick)
O: Skylar Thompson 6 run (run failed)
Second quarter
N: Oralls 4 run (Stewart kick)
N: Oralls 20 run (Stewart kick)
N: Stewart 34 field goal
Third quarter
O: Jake Crotser 48 pass to Sam Sherrill (pass failed)
Fourth quarter
N: Tristan Rifanburg 25 run (Stewart kick)
N: Cole Rifanburg 23 run (Stewart kick)
Team summary
N O
First downs 9 15
Rushes-yds 29-172 47-234
Passing yds 0 97
Comp-att-int 0-7-1 12-20-2
Punts-avg 5-37.4 2-38
Fumble-lost 0-0 3-3
Penalties-yds 8-55 11-100
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Mike Oralls, 18-113; Tristan Rifanburg, 3-33; Cole Rifanburg, 8-26. (O) Skylar Thompson, 13-79; Sam Sherrill, 11-49; Austin Scheer, 9-48; Jake Crotser, 10-35; James Cibella, 4-23.
Passing: (N) C. Rifanburg, 0-6-1, 0 yds. T. Rifanburg, 0-1-0. (O) Crotser, 12-20-2, 97 yds, TD.
Receiving: (O) Sherrill, 6-81; Joe Sherrill, 1-7; Cibella, 1-5; Skylar Thompson, 2-4.
Norwich was far from its best Friday night at Oneonta, but it made more than enough good plays to pick up a 38-12 victory.
It was the Purple Tornado’s fifth straight victory, and it clinched the program’s first Section IV division title in five years. The victory places Norwich in the sectional semifinals this Friday when it will host Johnson City.
Norwich forced five Yellowjackets turnovers, and turned nearly all of those miscues into points – often working with a short field.
“We talk about the turnover battle, and we want to win that every week,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “I don’t know what the percentage is (of winning games) when you win the turnover battle by four or five, but I like our chances when that happens.”
Norwich scored two touchdowns within a six-second span early in the second quarter – both after Oneonta fumbles – to open a 21-6 lead.
On the first play of the second quarter, Oneonta quarterback Jake Crotser was stripped after a short run at his own team’s 30. An ensuing 15-yard penalty on the ‘Jackets gave Norwich the ball at the 15. Cole Rifanburg ran for six yards on a fourth-and five to the four-yard line, and Mike Oralls scored the second of his three TDs one play later.
Norwich regained the ball on the subsequent kickoff when Colton Langille rattled Oneonta returner Pat Calhoun with a high hit, and Jordan Vinal was on the spot for one of his two fumble recoveries. Oralls did the rest on a 20-yard TD run.
“We weren’t as physical as we wanted to be tonight, but we were opportunistic and were able to capitalize on their turnovers,” Chrystie said.
If you looked at the game strictly from a yardage standpoint – and the action between each club’s 20-yard line – you would think that Oneonta was winning the battle. The Yellowjackets summed 331 total yards to Norwich’s 172.
“I don’t think we played our best football, and that’s a credit to Oneonta,” Chrystie said. “It was their senior night, and they came prepared.”
The ease with which it scored its first touchdown may have curtailed Norwich’s early emotion, Chrystie said. Tristan Rifanburg returned the opening kickoff 29 yards to midfield. Oralls ran for 25 yards on his first carry, Oneonta was whistled for a penalty as Oralls was shoved out of bounds, and Oralls scored from 16 yards on just the second play from scrimmage.
With the exception of his scoring runs, 16, 4, and 25 yards, Oralls’ yards did not come easily, He carried 18 times for 113 yards, his sixth 100-yard rushing performance of the season.
When it wasn’t forcing turnovers, Norwich was typically punting the ball away. Oneonta held a significant edge in time of possession, but proved its own worst enemy. In addition to the Yellowjackets’ two lost fumbles in the second quarter, Norwich senior Jacob Perrone intercepted his third pass in as many games.
Perrone’s pickoff led to Zan Stewart’s 34-yard field late in the half giving Norwich an 18-point halftime advantage.
Oneonta sliced the Norwich lead in half scoring on the opening drive of the second half. An innocuous looking swing pass from Crotser to Sam Sherrill turned into a 48-yard scoring play when Sherrill broke through the initial line of defense and cruised unabated to the endzone.
A drive later in the quarter reached the Norwich redzone, but Sherrill, on a pass reception, fumbled the ball back to Norwich.
Early in the fourth, Norwich stopped an Oneonta fourth-and-five when Oralls sniffed out that same swing pass that scored earlier tackling Sherrill well short of the line to gain at the 41.
In just three plays, Norwich padded its advantage when Tristan Rifanburg scored from 25 yards out. In the final minute of play, Cole Rifanburg scored on a quarterback keeper around the left end.
“I wouldn’t call this a flat performance, but we weren’t as prepared as we needed to be, and that’s on me,” Chrystie said. “We certainly would have wanted a more dominating performance, but at the end of the game, it’s about the score, and if you have more points than the other team, then you’ve done your job.”
Score by quarters
Nor 7 17 0 14—38
On. 6 0 6 0—12
Scoring Summary
First quarter
N: Mike Oralls 16 run (Stewart kick)
O: Skylar Thompson 6 run (run failed)
Second quarter
N: Oralls 4 run (Stewart kick)
N: Oralls 20 run (Stewart kick)
N: Stewart 34 field goal
Third quarter
O: Jake Crotser 48 pass to Sam Sherrill (pass failed)
Fourth quarter
N: Tristan Rifanburg 25 run (Stewart kick)
N: Cole Rifanburg 23 run (Stewart kick)
Team summary
N O
First downs 9 15
Rushes-yds 29-172 47-234
Passing yds 0 97
Comp-att-int 0-7-1 12-20-2
Punts-avg 5-37.4 2-38
Fumble-lost 0-0 3-3
Penalties-yds 8-55 11-100
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Mike Oralls, 18-113; Tristan Rifanburg, 3-33; Cole Rifanburg, 8-26. (O) Skylar Thompson, 13-79; Sam Sherrill, 11-49; Austin Scheer, 9-48; Jake Crotser, 10-35; James Cibella, 4-23.
Passing: (N) C. Rifanburg, 0-6-1, 0 yds. T. Rifanburg, 0-1-0. (O) Crotser, 12-20-2, 97 yds, TD.
Receiving: (O) Sherrill, 6-81; Joe Sherrill, 1-7; Cibella, 1-5; Skylar Thompson, 2-4.
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